Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

Is the key to freedom a life without Amazon? This week, Ross talks to Lina Khan, former Chair of the Federal Trade Commission about how unchecked corporate power has limited choice in our day-to-day lives, and how her fight against Big Tech unites left and right. * 02:41 - What’s wrong with big business? * 09:27 - The political costs of corporate consolidation * 11:39 - How the 2008 financial crisis shaped Lina Khan's philosophy * 17:49 - The antitrust consensus from Reagan to Obama * 21:54 - How the left and right align against big business  * 26:12 - Khan's wins and losses at the FTC  * 36:53 - Is the Trump administration embracing or rejecting Khan's vision? * 42:32 - Is anti-monopoly policy the solution to our economic problems? * 48:38 - Can Big Tech be broken up? (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)  Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. > Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Has immigration become the new litmus test for the Republican Party? In this episode, Ross talks to Matthew Continetti, the author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism,” about the party’s shifting coalition, the defining role of immigration and how today’s right echoes its past. * 01:50 - What the Elon experiment (and fallout) tells us about the Republican Party * 06:55 - Is there a tech right beyond DOGE? * 10:09 - Is the “new right” really all that new? * 18:16 - Where Trump’s agenda fits within the larger conservative story * 25:16 - “Immigration is the biggest issue of our time” * 28:39 - How border control will define conservatism around the world * 34:05 - Is Silicon Valley out of step with Trump's immigration crackdown? * 39:43 - Will Trump's ideas outlast Trump? (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)  Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. > Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Does Hollywood have anything interesting left to say? In a world where franchises dominate and grown-up movies have fallen by the wayside, Ross talks to the showrunner Tony Gilroy, whose “Star Wars” spinoff “Andor” has, according to Ross, succeeded in being both original and smartly political in a Hollywood that is often neither. * 03:04 - The political world of ”Andor” * 08:36 - Tony Gilroy's syllabus for “Andor” * 10:40 - Is “Andor” a left-wing show? * 17:07 - What makes Hollywood progressive or liberal? * 24:22 - Debating the politics of “Michael Clayton” * 29:42 - Why aren't there more movies for grown-ups? * 32:56 - “There are no movie stars anymore.” * 35:55 - How A.I. changing the movie business * 39:28 - Tony Gilroy's advice for future filmmakers (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)  Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. > Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

What would make you want to have more children? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat speaks with Dr. Alice Evans, a social scientist who is as concerned about the global decline in fertility as he is. The two discuss why this isn’t just a gender issue — it’s “a solitude issue” – and whether there’s a way to bring relationships back. * 02:03 - What are the stakes of declining fertility? * 06:41 - Alice's master theory for why birth rates are falling * 09:04 - There are too many single people * 10:27 - We can thank technology for the coupling crisis * 12:58 - The digital segregation of men and women * 16:31 - Men have less to offer these days * 20:11 - What can bring the sexes back together * 24:31 - Could Hollywood help fix the problem? * 25:46 - Can the government incentivize people to have babies? * 27:30 - What role does religion play in all this? * 28:59 - The role of IVF * 40:50 - Does the fantasy of youth impact the numbers? * 43:43 - The world in 2080... (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)  Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. > Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat interviews Vice President JD Vance about the Trump administration’s deportations, the tariff backlash and how Vance’s faith influences his politics. * 01:49 - How faith shapes JD Vance’s politics * 04:26 - ‘Papal interventions in politics’ * 14:44 - How will the Trump administration measure success on immigration? * 21:22 - ‘The courts are trying to overturn the will of the American people’ * 23:55 - Are migrants really at war against the US? * 28:48 - The parallels between the War on Terror and Trump's deportation policies * 40:29 - What does a successful trade policy look like? * 48:10 - The "big, beautiful bill" * 58:57 - Does the Trump administration expect the AI revolution will take jobs? * 54:05 - What worries Vance about AI * 58:33 - JD Vance's message to shocked Trump voters (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)  Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. > Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.